Archive for the 'Podcast Episode' Category
RPPR Episode 17: Bargain Bin Bonanza
July 08, 2008
“Just being in here is a humbling experience for me, because you’re looking through all these records and it’s sort of like a big pile of broken dreams…Whether you want to admit it or not, 10 years down the line you’ll be in here. So keep that in mind when you start thinking like, ‘I’m invincible and I’m the world’s best,’ or whatever. Because that’s what all these cats thought.” DJ Shadow
In this episode, we focus on looting the pile of broken dreams that is the bargain bin of your friendly local game store. Many times you can find a hidden diamond in the rough or at least something you can exploit for a game in the system of your choice. By going over some of the bargain we’ve enjoyed like Little Fears, Waste World, Mutazoid, Teenagers from Outer Space, and Hunter the Reckoning, you can begin to see what lurks in the used game shelf. Plus, a letter from Tom and anecdotes! Oh and you must watch Common Law Wife. As always, post your comments on our forum and we appreciate donations. Also, if you are an artist, Tom wants a werewolf drawing or something like that. I think. He’ll pay like five bucks for it. Listen to the episode if you want the details. Also, this thread in the Something Awful forums is hilarious and disturbing.
NEWS: Some of our listeners love the actual play sessions. Some don’t. IF you do NOT want to get Actual Play sessions in your RSS feed, then please switch your feed to this new one. http://slangdesign.com/rppr/feed?cat=-12 It has everything EXCEPT Actual Play sessions. The main feed still has everything. If you like the Actual Play sessions you are fine. Nothing needs to be changed.
Shout Outs:
- Wushu: A free and open RPG of fast action-Great for a one shot game when you have no time to prep.
- Operation Darkness: A crazy alternate history WW2 RPG for the Xbox 360 where you fight Nazi vampires with Allied Werewolves. Seriously.
- George Carlin: All My Stuff. A big ole collection of Carlin’s work. If you’re a fan, you need this box set. Well, you don’t but it is a goddamn lot of stuff.
- The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra: If you like Mystery Science Theater 3000, cheesy movies from the 50s and 60s or B movies in general, then you must watch this movie. Tom used the Skeleton as a villain in a Mutants and Masterminds game because his players demanded it after seeing the movie.
Music: Nuclear War by Los Podankos - a Russian street punk band with no homepage and this is all I could find. Oi!
Posted by Ross at 11:30pm
10 Comments »
RPPR Episode 16: Help Me To Help You
June 24, 2008
While most of our shows so far have focused on running a great game, we thought we would give some advice for the other side of the GM Screen. In other words, the players. Of course, we talk about D&D 4th Edition, the death of Erick Wujcik, recent games we played, Raillery, my awesome new comedy video podcast and more. Tom was too lazy to write a letter, so instead we review The Happening and Machine Girl and tell a few anecdotes. I have a brand spanking new anecdote from playing D&D 4E and listener Eternal Green sent in a few. Don’t forget to check out our new forums!
- Colonial Gothic: A new horror RPG set in colonial America. Great research into the period and it’s a fresh idea for a horror setting. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, anyone?
- Let’s Play: An archive of playthroughs of video games, both old and new. This video from the Darkseed 2 is all you need to understand how great this is.
- Iron Age Sourcebook for Mutants and Masterminds: In the 80s and 90s, superheroes fought crime to the MAXX and by Maxx I meant that they murdered their enemies. It was pretty cool although Rob Liefield can’t draw a human body worth a shit.
Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church
Music: A new song from Vitamins and Minerals of Death that I will use in the next Raillery video.
Posted by Ross at 12:07am
2 Comments »
RPPR Episode 15: Let’s Split Up Gang!
May 29, 2008
Just like the Scooby Doo gang, players tend to split up during a game and ike it or not and unless you know what to do, your game can suffer. Most players get bored when they have nothing to do, a divided game can mean the end of your campaign. We discuss how to deal with a split game and keep everything running smooth. There’s also a letter from Tom and of course, shout outs.
Cave Story: A freeware side scrolling adventure PC game that is a blast to play.
Shadowcaster: An old school PC RPG that has something to do with casting shadows. Which is dumb, because everyone casts a shadow. But, whatever.
Music: Scooby Doo by Baron Von Lichtenstein.
Posted by Ross at 8:47pm
4 Comments »
RPPR Episode 14: The Top Ten Books You Never Knew You Needed
May 09, 2008
Music: Can’t Judge a Book by Robin Sylar
Promos: Bearswarm Podcast, Nuketown Radio and the Game Traveler
Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church
New: RPPR Donations
We now accept donations to cover the cost of hosting and equipment for our podcast. If you’re a fan of RPPR, contribute. You can set up a $2 monthly subscription fee or donate a one time fee. Contact us if you’re interested in sponsoring an episode of RPPR.
[donation]
Synopsis:
Gamers should broaden their horizons on occasion. To that end, we each picked five books or types of printed media that can do just that and we discuss how to implement each title’s content. These apply to both player and GM, as a clever player can get great character concept ideas or tactics for the game while GMs get a treasure trove of game material. ‘
Tom has updated the classic poem “Casey at Bat” with the Palladium RPG, Rifts, in mind. Plus, shout outs and an anecdote. Find out the conclusion of an 8 month WW2 GURPS campaign where I was a player for once!
My Top Five
- Storyteller by Kate Wilhelm
- Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker
- Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales
- Mythologies by Roland Barthes
- How to Make War by James Dunnigan / Howdunit by Lee Lofland / Bulfinch’s Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch
Tom’s Top Five
- Newspapers
- Punisher Comics - current MAX run by Garth Ennis
- City Tour Guides
- Zoology Books
- Janes Military Guides
Shout Outs
Mount & Blade: An excellent indie PC game of medieval combat and adventure. Players create an adventurer, raise an army of soldiers and rampage across the country side, battling whatever foes stand in your way. Virtually no plot, minimal RPG character development, but great action and it’s tremendously fun to run down dozens of peasants with a heavily armed knight on horseback.
Wrongside: A comic of politics, intrigue, genocide, and fashion right out of the Final Fantasy school of design. Also, furries.
Dwarf Fortress: An ASCII graphic strategy/simulation game that puts you in control of seven dwarves and a wagon in a randomly generated world. The object being of course, to build a fortress. Of course, dwarves are strange little creatures and subject to strange whims and bad luck. That and Dwarf Fortress is a staggeringly complex game that keeps track of every dwarf’s emotional state, fluid mechanics and erosion, among other things. It is in fact, INSANE. Play it…if you dare.
BOATMURDERED: The saga of a Dwarf Fortress run by a succession of emperors. Marvel at the cleverness of Project DOOM (it involves channeling magma), tremble at the exploits of murderous legendary elephants and weep at the sad fate that befalls the inhabitants of BOATMURDERED. BOATMURDERED is, was and ever shall be the most brutal of all fortresses in all of fantasy.
F-117 Flight Simulator: A DOS era flight simulator. Tom really really really hates Saddam era Iraq and likes to blow it up. So, uh, there you go.
Oh and Iron Man. The movie. I’m not going to link it. Fuck that noise. It’s a fun movie but come on. It’s got like a 50 million dollar advertising budget.
Read below the fold for Tom’s entire Casey at Bat
RPPR Episode 14: The Top Ten Books You Never Knew You Needed [77:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Posted by Ross at 6:03pm
1 Comment »
RPPR Episode 13: The Awesome Action Packed Alliterative Adventure
April 23, 2008
Song: Just Like Bruce Campbell Did by Joe Hero
Promo: Sinister Adventures
Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church
Special Guest: Aaron Carsten
Check out our new Forums and Twitter Feed!
Synopsis:
After discussing some listener feedback, with a special defense of the Sluggy Freelance web comic by Aaron Carstein, we decided to challenge each other’s game design skills with a 24 hour contest, similar to Game Chef. Each of us came up with 7 game elements that the other host would have to come up with a game or scenario that would incorporate all seven elements. As our game ‘ingredients’ ranged from the Ural Mountains to pacifism, we both came up with some twisted stuff. Take a listen and voice your opinion on the superior creation with our brand new forums! No letter from Tom this week due to a hard drive failure but we got a good anecdote and of course, shout outs.
Shout Outs:
- Darken: A D&D web comic of a group of evil adventurers being, well, evil. Not stereotypical ‘I am going to tie this woman to the railroad tracks’ but more of a ‘I am a selfish bastard who really only cares about himself and I will do whatever it takes to survive.’ A breath of fresh air when compared to the typical goody-good heroic adventures that populate D&D themed works.
- Minus: A brilliant fantasy web comic of a little girl with godlike powers who uses them for her own amusement. A modern day Little Nemo in Wonderland with a touch of the Twilight Zone.
- Wonderella: Superhero themed comedy doesn’t get much better than Wonderella.
- The Secret Life of Elevators: A man gets stuck in an elevator for 41 hours. No, it’s not a joke. It’s an essay on elevators, life, and the existential dread that hangs over our heads. A great read.
- F-22 Raptor: A flight sim where you can drop a nuclear bomb on a city. This is a good thing.
- Lichcraft: An Oblivion mod adding new adventures and the ability to become a lich. If you play Oblivion on the PC, you should get it.
- Pyramid Head: Another Oblivion mod. Put Pyramid Head in the game. Because you know, those other demons and monsters in the game? Total pussies. You want Pyramid Head. You NEED Pyramid Head.
RPPR Episode 13: The Awesome Action Packed Alliterative Adventure [58:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Posted by Ross at 1:14am
1 Comment »
RPPR Episode 12: Everything Old is New Again
April 02, 2008
Opening music: I’m Dungeons You’re Dragons by the Alligators
Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church
Promos: Rpgpodcasts.com and The Tome Podcast
Brand new: Join the RPPR Facebook group!
Synopsis:
Sooner or later, your favorite game is going to become old and tired. The players will read every sourcebook, the GM will run every written adventure for it and what was once new and exciting becomes cliched and tired. How do you make an old game that everyone knows new? We discuss several ways to freshen things up and what to avoid when remixing the game.
Shout Outs:
Viking Fighting: A viking martial arts school. Tactical warhammer classes, anyone?
The Abominable Charles Christopher: A brilliantly drawn and written web comic following the adventures of a simple minded yeti and the other inhabitants of the forest. A must read.
Sluggy Freelance: A mediocre web comic with generic art, below average writing, static characters that haven’t changed in over 10 years and an overly convoluted plot that requires reading the entire 10 year backstory to make sense.
Click below to see Tom meeting Henry Rollins
Posted by Ross at 5:56pm
6 Comments »
RPPR Episode 11: Dungeon Crawl from Here to Eternity - a tribute to Gary Gygax
March 22, 2008
Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church
Music: A tribute to Mozart by Steffe Coonan
Promo: The Escapist Podcast
Synopsis:
Gary Gygax passed away on March 4 2008. His legacy is the foundation of role playing games as we know them. While we are not old school players who were there in the golden age of D&D, we both felt Mr. Gygax’s hand in our games. The adversarial competition between DM and the players, the ‘kick the doors down and slit their throats’ style of dungeon crawling. We talk about the generational differences in gamers and Gary’s many contributions to popular culture. You can see his influence in video games, new media and much more. This is not a solemn tribute as we both thought that Gary would want a lively upbeat discussion.
Shout outs:
Neverwinter Nights 2: An excellent 3rd edition D&D computer game with more features and gameplay than you can shake a dead orc at.
Dieselboy’s Dungeon Master Guide: An incredible drum & bass album, perfect for fast paced battles when running your own D&D game.
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup: A sadistic computer game. Described perfectly in this thread:
Posted by Ross at 1:23am
10 Comments »
